Split rim



. Patented Dec. I5, 1931 y (various modified forms of the rim A further object ofthe invention is to `dental objects in view, as

u ieferring to the drawings,

SPLIT .RIM Application led June16, 1926.v Serial No. 116,363.

This invention relates to disc vehicle wheels indicates the conventional wheel hub havofthe pressed metal type, and more particulng a peripheral flange 2, to which may be larly to a rolled sheet metal split type of tire bolted the brake drum 3. The wheel is shown rim. in the drawingas a pressed sheet metal disc One of the primary objects of the inven- 4 concave'd for the purpose of rigidity, with tion is to provide a simple construction which its outer end terminating in a lateral flange 5. 'll be extremely economical to manufacture, f wheel is to be preof light weight, yet ofsuiicient strength to ferred, the rim is not llmited in its use to discs withstand hard usage, and unlikely to get out alone, but other forms of wheel may obviousof repair.

y be employed in conjunction with the present split rim. vid

hereof butted cumferential line. In the manufacture of hese'sections a fiat piece of stock thin sheet metal is' cut to length and' its ends welded or otherwise integrally united; to thereby .form a continuous annular band. 'lfhe band sulting light weight rim will afford a minimum amount of resistance to the propelling power.

A further object oftheinvention is to provi e a. rim upon .which a tire may be readily ing t e inner air tube of'the tire.

With the above primary and other inciyAft will more fully appear in the/specification, the invention consists of the features of construction, the parts andcombinations there and their mode of assemblyas hereinafter described. and setv forth in the claims..

In the drawings, wherein like parts'are indicated by the same reference characters,` Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view ofl the assembled wheel and split rim forming the subject matter hereof;

ig. 2 is a sectional view of the split rim showing the location of the air valve stem 9 bef projecting through the rim; Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views of allN worked to the desired channel shape. er having beenproperly formed, the band the portion split adjacent of the one severed section is pressed outwardly, while the corresponding portion on, the other section is pressed inwardly, thereby forming the abutment portions oiothe respe tive rim sections, asshown in the drawings.'

" T e assembled rim thus formed is substantial y that shown in Fig. 1, consisting ofthe two sections 6 and. withilateral base meme-rs terminating in the outwardly and inune eLe in Fig, 6; while Fig. 6 is a` section on view taken on line 7-7 Flg. 7 is a-detail of Fig. 3; and

' ig. 8 is a detail side elevation 'of the tire rim at the location of the connecting bolt and of th quite a distance ,from the supthe numeral 1 The depth of the channel o a medlal circumferential line and V Y radially inside 6 by a series o viously may be varied depending on conditions, that shown in the drawing being merely for illustrative purposes. Y

The rim section 6 is fixedly attached to the lateral flange 5 of the disc in any suitable manner, as by riveting, bolting, welding, pressing, or otherwise, while the section 7 is detachably mountedto the section f bolts 14. By unthreading the nuts 15, the section 7 may thus be demounted to permit substitution of tires in a simple and easy manner, and on replacing the demounted rim section 7 it will readily fit into position with a minimum of effort. y

In order to properly space the sections, there may be provided an annular spacer band 16 at the radially outer portion of the the channel. While in the past automobile wheels and their tire rims have been generally construct- Aed of comparatively heavy material, such weight, in addition to being costly, possesses certain disadvantages which a lighter wheel e'ectively overcomes. The :action of a heavy wheel is substantially that of, a flywheel acting in oppositionY to the motor flywheel. Greater motor power is required to start the revolution of the traction wheels, and af the wheels have attained momentum, greater braking eort is required to lessen their speed. On rough roadways every bump the wheels contact with tends to check their momentum and place strains on the motor flywheel. The advantages of the light weight traction wheel in eliminating such flywheel ationwill, therefore, be apparent. Y'

The provision of a deep channel for the split in the rim obviates any possibility of the inner air tube being caught in the sp'lit and pinched Pinching is quite common in that type of rim having a surface split, and results in weakening and tearing of t e tube wall. The spacer member closing t e channel also serves to prevent the tube contacting the split.

The spacer may be made in various shapes .and placed at different radial distances in the channel. Thus in Fig. 6 it is merely a at annular band 16a at a radially midway point in the channel and passes around the bolt's 14a the same as shown more particularly in Fig. 6a, while in Fig. 3 the spacer 16h is provided with a down-turned or radially inwardly extending flange at 'one side through which the bolts 14b pass to secure it in place, and the band has notches through which the bolts pass, also shown in Fig. 7. Again in Fig. 4 a simple form ofthe band 16c is illustrated, with a single down-turned or radially inwardly extending flange having holes for the passage of the bolts 14, the band in the plane of and resting on the bolt surface, and in Fig. 5 the band 16d has down-turned or radially inwardly extending *flanges on both sides with notches for the .Y bent edge portions to the disc wheel are also shown, Fig. 1 illustrating a rivet connection,

Fig. 6 a welded, brazed, soldered or pressed fit connection, and Fig. 5 shows a groove formed inthe rim base and a corresponding bead on the disc flange fitting into the groove.

In some instances it might be found advisable to form the disc and one rim section integral or from one sheet of material as is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, both views showing different types of abutments for the demountable rim section, the particular form being nonessential.

It will be apparent that there is thus provided a device o the character describe possessingthe particular features of advantage enumerated, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form and arrangementl of parts without departing from the principle involved.

While the structural scribed more or features have been deless specifically, it is to. be understood the invention is not limited to the exact details, but obvious modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as set forth inthe appended claims.

I-Iaving described the invention, I claim:

1. A rolled sheet metal rim of the dropped center type including'a pair of complemen` tary sections of angular conformation in cross section, each sheet metal section having a radially projecting portion forming a side wall of the dropped center channel, a laterally and outwardly projecting portion at the y periphery of said side wall to receive the bead of a tire and a laterally and inwardly projecting portion at the circumferential inner edge of saidside wallto constitute a part of the base of,l said channel, the free edge portion of the last mentioned portion of one section being bent radially outwardly and the corresponding free edge portion of the other section being bent radially inwardly, said co-operating with each other to afford complemental abutments for the sections, and means for securing said sections together. L i y 2. A rolled sheet metal rim of the dropped center type including a/pair of complementary sections of angular conformation in cross section, each sheet metal section having 'a radially projecting portion forming a side wall of the dropped centerA channel, alaterally and ,outwardly projecting portion at the periphery of said side wall to receive the bead of a tire and a laterally and inwardly projecting portion atthe circumferential inner edge of said wall to constitute a partl of the base of said channel, the free edge portion des of the last mentioned portion of one section tending through the side Walls and across the channel, and a spacer ring walls closing the channel.

In testimony whereof I aix FRANK between said side L. MAIN.

my signature. 

